This document discusses the benefits of mindfulness training for students and describes a digital mindfulness course developed by researchers at UC Santa Barbara. Mindfulness interventions have been shown to improve mental health, focus, stress, emotions, and academic achievement for high school and college students. The UC Santa Barbara team's mindfulness training led to reduced mind-wandering, enhanced memory, and improved test scores. They were awarded a grant to create a digital mindfulness course that continuously improves based on research with schools nationwide.

1. Mindfulness for Students
An Evidence-Based Approach
Reaching Students When They’re Ready
There’s no wrong age to train students in mindfulness, but high
school and college students are old enough to develop a rich
understanding of how to use mindfulness to improve their lives.
In fact, a recent meta-analysis of 24 studies across elementary,
middle, and high schools found that mindfulness interventions in
high schools led to the largest improvements in mental health.1
Why Mindfulness?
Mindfulness training gives students greater control over their
attention. This allows them to more effectively manage distractions,
thoughts, evaluations, and emotions. Dozens of scientific articles
from research teams across the world have demonstrated benefits
of mindfulness training for students,1-3
including:
Increased focus
Reduced stress
Greater emotional control
Less depression and anxiety
Improved academic achievement

2. Mindfulness is our Passion and Expertise
Throughout the last decade, our team at UC Santa Barbara has
been teaching mindfulness and researching its effects. Mindfulness
training designed and taught by our team has led to:3
Reduced mind-wandering
Enhanced memory
Improved standardized test scores
After teaching mindfulness in local high schools and colleges
for many years, we were awarded a grant from the U.S. Dept. of
Education to translate our expertise into a digital course. Every
week this course improves based on insights that emerge through
our research partnerships with schools around the country.
1. Carsley et al. (2018) Effectiveness of mindfulness interventions for mental
health in schools: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 9, 693–707.
2. Mrazek et al. (2017) Mindfulness in education: Enhancing academic achievement and student
well-being by reducing mind-wandering. In Papies (Ed.), Mindfulness and SocialPsychology, 139-152.
3. Mrazek et al. (2013) Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE
performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychological Science, 24, 776–781.
4. Dixson et al. (2010) Creating effective student engagement in online courses: What do students
find engaging? Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(2), 1–13.
5. Puzziferro et al. (2008) A model for developing high-quality online Courses: Integrating a systems
approach with learning theory. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12, 119–136.
6 Mrazek et al. (in press) The future of mindfulness training is digital, and the future is now.
Current Opinion in Psychology.
A Digital Approach to Mindfulness Training
Research suggests that well-designed digital courses can be just
as effective as traditional instruction.4
A digital approach allows
leading experts to provide on-demand access to meticulously
refined content. When using a responsive online learning platform,
courses can also be personalized to meet students’ needs and
interests.5
Yet to achieve effective learning and lasting results,
digital courses must also follow best practices in educational
psychology and behavior change.6